A Sabre's Life
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Diego is haunted by troubling dreams ever since making the decision to leave the herd to raise his cubs with Shira. Diego begins to fear for the lives of his first cubs as the dreams begin to worsen. A bitter sabre tale of a young family's fight for survival.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**

The rights to Ice Age do not belong to me unfortunately

**Title**

A Sabre's Life

**Summary**

Diego is haunted by troubling dreams ever since making the decision to leave the herd to raise his cubs with Shira. Diego begins to fear for the lives of his first cubs as the dreams begin to worsen.

**.**

**Prologue: Troubling Dreams**

The sounds of snarling predators caught Diego's attention. He lowered his head, sniffed the ground and detected the scent of sabre. He couldn't believe Max had run off! "Little scoundrel," Diego muttered, following the scent. But he wasn't upset – he was scared. Max was alone in a big world. Anything could happen to a tiny cub. He sniffed the ground again, frowning. Sabres. In this territory? How odd.

He ventured further into the forest, continuing to follow the scent. He now detected three sabres... three adult male sabres in fact. And the smell was familiar... litter brothers. That meant Oscar and his cronies were around scouting for some unknown reason. Were they searching for Shira? Breeding season hadn't ended yet. A worrying thought occurred to him. What if Max had encountered them? Diego hadn't exactly departed on good terms with them.

Spurred on my concern, Diego charged forward gaining speed with each sprint. The closer he got to his destination, the more worried he felt. Was Max still alive? "Max!" Diego called out. No response. He tried emitting a roar, but still his sensitive hearing could not detect Max's shrill cries. He continued to run forward until he reached a clearing. Blood filled his nostrils. "Max!" he shouted.

That's when he found what he was looking for.

There on the snow-covered grass lay the body of a young male sabre drenched in blood. He wanted to cry, to roar with fury, but no sound would escape his throat. A forbidden tear rolled down his cheek, as he stood above the cub. His stomach tightened, his blood froze. He dropped to his belly beside the dead cub. The cub lay in a pool of blood, with eyes wide open. Bite marks lined his neck and a deep gash trailed from his left hind leg to the left foreleg. His death had been a quick one. Quick, painful and bloody. "...No... this isn't real..."

"Welcome to the real world, Diego." The sabre turned around sharply, eyes burning with malice. Another male sabre glanced at him smirking. He was big; equal in size with Diego, but thicker around the body. "I'm sorry... was that pathetic thing yours?" The smirk widened, revealing bloodied teeth. Two other sabre-toothed cats joined his side; one with a robust figure and another with a fragile build.

"Oscar," Diego said calmly.

"You remember."

Anger slowly started to rise. "What are you doing here?"

The smirk on Oscar's face faded, replaced by a scowl. "Searching for you!" he growled. "We've been searching for you for three damned years and you didn't have the heart to find us! We're litter brothers are we not or have you forgotten what it means to be a family?" he added, his voice deepening. He took a step forward, his eyes trained on Diego as if he were stalking prey. "I haven't forgotten... Lenny, Zeke. Find his mate. I'll handle Diego."

Diego held his ground, planting his paws firmly into the snow. He wasn't going to leave his dead cub alone to be eaten by marauding scavengers. "We might share the same blood, but we're not family," he snarled in response, lowering his body to the ground in preparation to charge...

"NO!" Diego roared, jolting up from his sleep.

Shira jumped up, alarmed. "What's happening? Are we under attack?" It took several moments until Diego realized he was in the cave with his mate, Shira sleeping beside him. Four cubs slept in between the two, cuddling up to their mother. "Did you have that dream again?" she asked, nuzzling her mate.

Diego welcomed her affectionately. "It's that same dream over and over again. Ever since we left the herd... I've been haunted by these dreams..." He laid down his head.

"We're not going to be away from the herd for too long, another few months and the cubs will be strong enough to travel long distances," Shira replied, in between licks.

"I can't force these dreams aside. I'm worried they'll become a reality," he confessed.

Shira shook her head. "No one will ever come in between our family. I won't let them. After everything we've been through, no one will ruin our happiness." One of the cubs, a sole male, purred softly. "I'm surprised your roar didn't awaken the cubs," Shira remarked.

He nodded. "The little scoundrel can sleep through anything," he said with a soft chuckle.

Shira smiled. "That's good, you're smiling again. Don't let these dreams trouble you; they're dreams after all and they can't hurt you." She licked him again on the nose. "Get some sleep we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Tomorrow was the day the cubs finally had the chance to leave the cave after remaining inside for a month. It was going to be a difficult task; although they were in a safe territory, cubs could always find a way to get themselves into trouble. Getting stung by strange coloured bugs, getting lost in the long grass and getting into vicious play fights. When winter came around, their troubles would increase. The cubs were so small and weak they would sink in the snow or get stuck on ice. "Yeah, you're right. You're always rights," Diego commented, closing his eyes.

Fortunately, he managed to get a peaceful sleep without the dreams returning.

**.**

Well, The Edge of Darkness and Love and Loss are on their final chapters now. The Curse is just beginning to get into some action, so I figured I ought to start another Ice Age multi-chaptered story to keep me occupied and writing motivation flowing. This will be a pretty depressing story – I want to focus on how difficult sabre life can be without a herd/pack to back them up. The herd will be featured of course, but won't feature as prominently.

Anyway, as always, reviews are much appreciated!


	2. Not Alone

**Disclaimer**

The rights to Ice Age do not belong to me unfortunately

**Title**

A Sabre's Life

**Summary**

Diego is haunted by troubling dreams ever since making the decision to leave the herd to raise his cubs with Shira. Diego begins to fear for the lives of his first cubs as the dreams begin to worsen.

**Special Thanks**

MusicRocks807, Funkywatermelon, Moves of a dreamer, Tigey Wigey, Angelotti, Andres02 and Guest for reviewing the first chapter.

**.**

**Chapter One: Not Alone**

Today was the big day. Shira turned around and looked at her cubs. They were sitting down on their haunches watching her with expectant eyes. "We're going to take you on a trip around our territory," Shira said.

Diego nodded. "You need to stick close; we can't afford to have any of you breaking ranks and running off. It's a big world out there." And dangerous as well, but Diego didn't say it out aloud. No point in scaring the cubs on their first day out. Besides, no danger would come anyway; not while two first time parents were on guard.

Diego led at the front while Shira remained at the rear. She pushed the cubs forward gently encouraging them to move forward. The sole male cub trotted to the front while the three females walked side by side. "When do we get to hunt?" Max asked, jumping into his father's footprints as they walked.

"You're not able to hunt yet until another month!" Diego replied, glancing behind.

Max pouted. "I wanna hunt!"

"You wouldn't even intimidate a bug at your age," Diego replied, grinning.

The cub's ears flattened against his head. "Alright, alright. I'll wait until I'm older." His sisters laughed. He glared at them silencing their laugher.

"No fighting otherwise we're heading back to the cave," Shira snapped, glaring at the three sisters. "Apologize to your brother."

"Sorry Max," the girls chorused.

"Where are we going first?" Max asked.

"To the water hole," Diego replied.

.

Fortunately, the water hole wasn't too far away. Max and his sisters were struggling to walk through the deep snow. Shira and Diego often had to pull the cubs out during their journey. Traipsing through the snow had drained the cubs of energy – each step seemed more difficult than the last. "Here we are, there's the water hole. The snow is a little thinner over there," Diego said.

And he was right. The snow didn't appear to be as deep around the water hole. With renewed energy, the cubs sprinted towards the water hole eager to enjoy their first adventure. Max bounded into the water followed by the three girls. Shira remained on the edge watching while Diego joined the cubs. The water was shallow – the cubs were in no danger of drowning.

Diego splashed the cubs and they attempted to tackle him in return. Shira joined the rest of her family in the water, taking the time to wash her fur. Diego splashed around in the water chasing the cubs in circles while Shira simply laughed at his childish antics. All was going well until Max decided to sneak off.

With the rest of his family busying themselves at water hole, Max snuck away. He sprinted through the snow as fast as his legs would carry him, leaving patchy footprints behind. He moved further away from his family until they were no longer visible. Now he was completely alone. Not that he was concerned – his parents were way too overprotective anyway and his sisters were boring. He loved his family and all, but it was time to move on from the water hole.

The girls wanted to stay close to the den; he wanted to venture out and explore the outside world. Listening to Diego's hunting trip stories each afternoon made him desperate to explore. Being stuck in a stuffy den all day was uneventful. He slowed down to a walk; best to conserve his energy for the rest of his trip. But where to first? He turned to the right. It was nothing but snow. He turned to the left. This was the forest boundary his father had often talked about. Apparently there was an abundance of deer. He had seen dead deer before, but had never seen one alive.

It didn't take him long to reach the boundary. He stopped and arched his neck backwards, taking in his surroundings. Pine trees towered over him all clumped together, blocking the sun's light. Snow covered grass blades spread for miles and Max jumped into the blades, enjoying how it tickled his body.

But... what was that?

He held his nose high in the air, his little ears standing erect. An unknown scent filled his nostrils. It certainly wasn't a sabre – they wouldn't be living in this area if there were others. It was something else. Perhaps it was a deer? Adrenaline rushing through him. He wandered deeper into the forest, a soft grin on its pudgy face. He roared – well, tried to, but it came out as a small squeak instead. That wasn't going to intimidate anyone. Boredom overcame him quickly and he threw himself at the grass again, unaware he was being watched.

.

Two juvenile wolves sat upon a large stone watching the cub play with the grass. Both were male wolves with thick dark grey fur to provide them decent camouflage with the snow. "Look at that – a lone sabre cub," said the elder of the two males.

The other male stepped forward jaws agape, a glob of saliva dripping down the side of his mouth. "Can we eat him?"

"Sabres aren't part of our diet, Rufus! Besides, we should report back to our leader and inform him about this." The wolf turned around ready to head back to home base.

"_He _doesn't need to know about this. Come on, Rex. We need to have _some _fun. Can't let our leader have all the joy."

His friend's eyes narrowed. "That's my father you are talking about."

"And your father is a bore. If I have to listen to another story about our ancestry and destiny, I swear I will have to kill him."

"You would lose. He is the toughest alpha our pack has ever had." The wolf turned back around to face his friend. "You can stay and look at the pathetic cub if you wish, but I'm heading back home." He jumped off the rock.

Rufus nodded. "Alright... I'll see you back at the den." His gaze remained fixed on the cub.

"Don't do anything you'll regret." Rex trotted back towards his home, his tail wagging behind him. Soon he was no longer visible. Rufus leapt down from the rock and walked towards the oblivious sabre. He flexed his jaw. "One dead cub coming right up."

.

Unaware that he was being watched, Max continued to tackle and flatten the grass to his heart's content. His endurance soon ran out of steam and he flopped down panting. Sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of leaves being crunched. He jerked upwards, his ears erect.

Walking towards him was a strange four legged grey furred creature with a long tail. Having never left the cave before, Max wasn't sure what the animal was, but looking at the unfriendly gaze in the animal's yellow eyes he knew it couldn't be trusted. He turned to run.

The creature bounded into a sprint. It moved incredibly fast – it was almost a blur. Max soon found himself pinned down onto the floor, a heavy paw pressed on his back. "Trying to run from me? Did you really think you could outrun a wolf?" The wolf lowered its head and ran its tongue across Max's face.

"Let me go! I didn't do anything to you!" Max spat, trying to be brave like his father would.

"Sabres are our enemy. Only one of us can be at the top, kid."

Max squirmed, desperate to free himself but the wolf was far too strong. "If my dad finds you you're going to be hurt real bad!"

The wolf laughed, revealing dagger like teeth. "An adult sabre might be stronger than a lone wolf... but I'm not alone, kid. I've got a pack – and they will tear your daddy apart." He sneered, then ran a claw across the back of the sabre's neck. "They'll sink their teeth into his neck. He'll be powerless to attack a pack of twenty wolves." He withdrew his paw, then rolled the cub into his back. "You can go..." Max crawled away. "Not so fast there, kid. I haven't finished speaking. You can go... if you can." The wolf pressed him down again, ignoring the cries for help from him.

"Please..."

"Let this be a warning sign. Get out of our territory." The wolf opened his jaws then clamped them around the cub's hind legs. Max screamed; his body convulsed. Blood streamed out of his leg as the wolf sunk his teeth in deeper. Soon, Max's world turned black.

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I've returned to the Ice Age fandom after a month of silence and that means updates and reviews coming your way! Reviews are appreciated, as always! Let me know how you think the story is coming along!


	3. Crippled

Disclaimer

The rights to Ice Age do not belong to me unfortunately

Title

A Sabre's Life

Summary

Diego is haunted by troubling dreams ever since making the decision to leave the herd to raise his cubs with Shira. Diego begins to fear for the lives of his first cubs as the dreams begin to worsen.

**Special Thanks**

Funkywatermelon, Angelotti, KaylaDestroyer, MusicRocks807, Jennifer and SlytherinPureBlood15 for reviewing the previous chapter. Thanks also to Andy for reviewing the first chapter.

.

**Chapter Two: Crippled**

Diego paced back and forth leaving deep footprints in the snow. Three cubs. There should be a fourth cub, but Max wasn't there. He hadn't drowned in the water, otherwise they would've have detected his body. "Where is he?" Diego growled. The three female cubs cowered together, afraid.

"He... went exploring," one of the girls said, lifting her gaze slightly.

Diego turned on the three sisters baring his teeth. "And you didn't think to tell your parents?! He could be in danger!" The images of Max's death came back to him. He was afraid the cub was injured or dead. Dread made him angry. Anger at Max for leaving without saying anything and anger at the sisters for not dobbing him in. But mostly he was angry at himself. He had failed as a parent. He should've been keeping an eye on all the cubs.

Shira seemed to sense his despair because she stood at his side and nuzzled him. "I'm sure Max will be fine."

He looked at her blankly. "He's just left the den, Shira. Of course he's not fine," he snapped, continuing to walk back and forth.

The three sisters snuggled up against Shira and hid their faces behind their paws. Diego heard sobbing; were the girls scared of losing their brother or at the monster Diego was becoming? He softened his stare and apologized to Shira. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried that's all," he confessed.

"It's alright, dear. I'm worried too, but we have to trust he will be fine."

"I'm going to look for him."

Shira nodded. "I'll stay here with the girls. I'll see you back at the den. Please find Max." She turned around and led the remaining cubs back to the den, gently whispering soothing words to calm their fears. Diego immediately headed towards the woods. If Max had gone exploring he would visit the forest.

.

Max whimpered; blood was pouring out of his wound it almost looked like a waterfall. He tried to move his injured leg, but the pain had paralysed it. He rested his head on his paws, staring at the wound hoping the blood would cease to leak. "I don't want to die..." he mumbled, tears falling down his cheeks.

If he screamed for help would anyone come? Or would his pathetic attempts for assistance come in the form of a wolf? Tears continued to slip down his face. This was it. He was going to die. Not a day out of the cave and he had already wasted his life. His parents were going to be so mad... if they ever found him that is. "Mum... dad..." he whimpered.

Once again, he tried to stand on his four legs and once again he failed to move. The pain. It was just too much for his little body to handle. Giving up was the only option. "No... must... get up..." he said, tightening his jaw and forcing his legs to stand. Through sheer force of will, Max managed to get up on shaky legs.

"Is that a cub down there?"

"Yeah, I think it is."

"Looks like it's going to die soon. Should we hang around here and wait?"

"Uh-huh. Fresh meat! We'll be the first in line."

Max's keen ears picked up the conversation of a couple of vultures circling low above the trees. Vultures knew when prey was going to die. They'd wait for hours until the prey had finally stopping breathing before gorging themselves on fresh flesh. He didn't want to be their dinner. "Come on, Max... just a little further..."

The truth was he wasn't sure how far away he was from home. He could be miles away. Hope was beginning to fade. He lay his belly down on the snow-covered ground and curled into a ball. It wasn't long before sleep overtook him numbing his senses temporarily. At least he could escape the pain for awhile. "Max!" Keen ears perked. Although his eyes were closed, his ears were always fully alert.

"Dad?" Max said.

Was this a dream?

Had he died already and gone to animal paradise?

"MAX!" a growl again, this time far more urgent. Something came rushing towards him, and Max knew it was another sabre. Diego.

"Dad!" Max cried, lifting his head from his paws.

Some hope at last.

.

Diego had searched the forest for about an hour looking for his only son. He searched behind shrubs, bushes and even rocks but the young sabre wasn't there. He had almost given up all hope when his nose picked up the scent of blood. Fresh blood. Fear motivated him. He ran faster than he had ever run before. And that's when he noticed it. His fears were confirmed. Max lay on the ground covered in blood.

"MAX!"

He ran towards the cub, hoping he was still alive. If he was dead... he didn't think he'd be able to cope. How would Shira react? And what about the sisters? It was his duty to protect them and he had failed! "Max, talk to me," Diego said, dropping down beside the wounded cub.

Fortunately, Max was still breathing. But for how much longer? His eyes turned to the wound on his leg. Sharp teeth belonging to a strong jaw had punctured two holes in the cub's leg. Not deep enough to kill him, but enough to cripple the cub for life. "Dad?" Max replied meekly, glancing up at his father.

A wave of relief rushed through Diego. He licked Max's face thankful he was still alive. "We were worried we lost you..." Again, his eyes turned to the wound.

"There goes our lunch," a vulture muttered.

Diego arched his neck back and looked at the bird. He roared prompting the bird to fly away. Max whimpered again. "Don't move, I'll pick you up. We have to get you back to the den." Before Max could protest, Diego picked up the cub with his jaws then made his way back home.

.

Shira was relieved to see Diego stroll up to the den with Max in his jaws, but relief quickly turned into tears upon seeing the state the cub was in. "Oh my... Max!" Sabres didn't often shed tears, but any parenting sabre worried about the safety of their cubs would. She licked the wound ignoring Max's cries. Once the cub had been cleaned up, Shira deposited Max with the other cubs in the safety of the den while she talked to Diego outside. "What happened to him?"

"Judging by that wound I would say he was attacked by another predator. Not a sabre though, some other creature," Diego replied sadly, ears flat against his head. "He'll be a cripple for the rest of his life."

Shira sniffed. "At least he's alive." She glanced over at the den.

Diego nuzzled his mate. "I'm going to find his attacker and rip him to shreds, this I swear," he said, pulling back. Max's life was ruined. He would never be able to hunt. He'd never be able to sprint. He'd never function the way a sabre should. Would the cub make it to adulthood? His chances were slim. But Diego wasn't going to share the bad news with his mate. Not yet.

She looked at him, concerned. "No. I'm not going to lose you."

"But-"

She shook her head. "We need to look after Max. Chasing down his attacker isn't going to improve his health. You staying with your family will give him the best chance at a better life."

There was no arguing with her. Diego nodded, disappointed. "You have my word." One thing for certain was that they were no longer the only predators in the area. How long would it be for danger to come to them?

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The original plan was to have Max die but that was far too cruel to happen so early in the story. Anyway, life is going to get much tougher for the sabre family. Reviews are much appreciated, as always!


	4. Tough Life

**Disclaimer**

The rights to Ice Age do not belong to me unfortunately

**Title**

A Sabre's Life

**Summary**

Diego is haunted by troubling dreams ever since making the decision to leave the herd to raise his cubs with Shira. Diego begins to fear for the lives of his first cubs as the dreams begin to worsen.

**Special Thanks**

Money100, Guest, Nazrita, MusicRocks807, Guest 2 and Funkywatermelon for reviewing the previous chapter! I realize I take a long time to update, and I do apologize, but sometimes I just can't write. I don't want to give you a poor rushed chapter either, so I have to wait until my writing muse comes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**.**

**Chapter Three: Tough Life**

Everyday tasks were a living nightmare for the crippled cub – every activity he involved himself in placed him in an unpleasant position. When he slept, his leg ached. When he ate, his leg hurt. When he walked, his leg throbbed. Every movement introduced him to a new world of pain. But it wasn't just the physical side of it – the mental anguish was overbearing.

During the middle part of the day, his three sisters would play a game of chase. Diego would sometimes catch a severely injured fawn for the cubs to practice their hunting skills on. Although they were still a few weeks away from eating meat, Diego wanted to ensure his cubs were tough. They were in a danger zone now and they had to be well prepared for anything.

Max sat down on the snow, resting his head on his fore paws. The familiar deep throbbing pain in his leg dominated his thoughts making it hard to concentrate on other activities. He could sleep – but sleep only brought nightmares of those horrible teeth. At times he would wake up in the night due to pain – or because of a nightmare.

His parents were worried. He could tell just by the way they looked at him. With big pitiful eyes. He hated being looked at like that – sabres were tough. Sabres were strong. Sabres were not weak. But he wasn't a normal sabre. He was handicapped. A tear rolled down the side of his right cheek, landing on his paw.

This was his life.

Useless.

What was the point in existing as a handicapped sabre? It was better to be dead than a burden to the rest of his family. His eyes remained on his sisters' game of chase the injured fawn, then briefly flickered over to his watchful concerned parents standing nearby. They were watching him, probably wondering what to do with him next.

His eyes began to water. "No..." he said weakly, "I will not show any form of weakness before my parents. I'm a _sabre." _A crippled one, but he still had the instinct and spirit of a sabre. He forced himself to step forward. With cautious steps he advanced closer to his parents, determined not to falter.

"Max! Don't move; you'll injure yourself!" Shira yelped.

Max ignored her. He managed to take a few more steps when he felt strong jaws gently clamp around his neck. Wriggling free wasn't an option; every time his mother gripped him in this manner he fell into a temporary state of paralysis. Eventually, he felt his feet come into contact with the surface again.

"Don't try that again, Max," Diego scolded.

"You'll only bring more harm to yourself," Shira added.

Max's ears lay back against his head. He dropped his belly on the cold snow and meekly looked up into the eyes of the adult sabres. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. Shira faintly smiled, then licked his body and all was quickly forgiven.

.

While Shira tended to Max's needs, Diego decided to take the opportunity to go exploring. Of course, he didn't tell Shira that – he simply told her he was hungry and that he was going to hunt down another meal, but the reality was, he searching for the enemy. He hated lying to her – she deserved more than that, but she would not let him go exploring on his own if he told her the truth. So here he was exploring the forest alone.

It was getting darker now. The sun was still visible, but only barely. The source of light had almost disappeared behind the horizon completely. It wasn't a problem for Diego though – he had solid vision during the day, but his night vision was vastly superior. Did Max's attackers have good night vision as well? A brief image of the teeth marks on Max's leg appeared in his head.

Definitely not the puncture wound of a sabre, but certainly they belonged to another mammal predator. Wolf. They were the only other existing carnivorous mammal on the island. He hadn't seen a wolf in years though – not since his days in Soto's pack – what were the wolves doing here? Surely they had a reason and Diego planned to find out the truth.

He lowered his nose to the snow, hoping to detect a strong enough scent to lead him the wolf den. His sharp sense of smell picked up the smell of wolf and he followed the trail. The further he went, the darker the forest seemed to get and the quiet it became. Only faint rays of light managed to shine down through the treetops. Diego treaded carefully now; this was unfamiliar territory. Who knew what else lurked within these woods?

He continued to explore, venturing even deeper into the forest. The scent grew stronger still and- "Well, well what do we have here?" asked a horse deep voice.

Diego froze; he turned around and came face to face with a large grey wolf.

.

The big grey furred wolf looked at him with those cool blue eyes, the emotion in them unreadable. His attention moved to the deep red scar running down the left side of face from bottom of his eye to the bottom of his jaw. The wolf seemed to be smirking at him. Diego didn't share his amusement. Instead, he lowered his body closer to the ground in preparation for a fight. "A lone sabre here in the woods at night? My, that is dangerous... even for a sabre."

Diego growled. "Why did you do it?"

The wolf frowned. "You'll have to be more specific."

"The sabre cub. You hurt him."

The wolf sighed. "Wolves own this area - sabre's do not. If sabres start invading our territory we have to fight. There's not enough food for all of us you know." Still, the wolf moved closer, his eyes never leaving Diego's face. "But I never touched any cub – perhaps you have mistaken me for another wolf?"

The wolf raised a fair point. There was no evidence of blood on his fur, but he could've washed himself clean of it. "We're not here to take over your territory. We'll be leaving after the cubs are old enough to eat meat."

"I don't trust sabres." The wolf drew closer, "You have one week to get out of _my _territory or the pack and I will kill you and your precious little _family," _he sneered. "You've been warned, sabre. Get out of my sight." He gnashed his teeth, prompting Diego to turn his back. Retreating now seemed cowardly, but he had a family to protect. He departed with a low growl, then headed back towards home.

.

Well, you won't see another update until the end of this month – I'm going away on a holiday to the northern hemisphere for three weeks so I obviously won't be writing. When I get back, I'll be on semester winter break for about four weeks so hopefully some writing magic will happen. Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated, as always!


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